Over 70 percent of the textbooks used at international schools here labeled the East Sea -- the body of water between South Korea and Japan -- as the “Sea of Japan,” research showed Friday, leading the government to start a correction campaign. The Ministry of Education conducted a survey of the textbooks used at 47 international and foreign schools in the country from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2 and found that 24 of 33 textbooks had used only the term Sea of Japan. The nine others had both terms written

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016

(Yonhap)South Korea has fewer medical doctors per person than other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a lawmaker revealed Friday. According to Health Ministry data released by Rep. Nam In-soon of The Minjoo Party of Korea, Korea ranks last in terms of the number of doctors, along with Mexico, in the OECD’s ranking of 28 member states. The nation had 2.2 doctors per every 1,000 people as of 2014. Austria has the highest ratio of doctors at 5.1 for every 1,000 p

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016

South Korea decided Thursday to dispatch four police investigators to the Philippines to participate in the local authorities’ probe into the deaths of three Koreans in the country. “We decided to send four professional examiners to the country. The matter has been settled with the Philippines national police” an official at the Korean National Police Agency said. The investigation team includes three police detectives and a forensic expert for gun analysis, the official added.(Herald DB)Two man

Social Affairs Oct. 13, 2016

Seoul’s metro operator is seeking to raise the age limit for free subway rides, citing the growing number of elderly passengers and its impact on the firm’s already-weak balance sheet, a lawmaker revealed Wednesday. In a petition submitted to the Finance Ministry on Sept. 7 and released by Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party, Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp. asked the government to adjust the minimum age of passengers entitled to free rides from the current 65 to 70. 　It also pr

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2016

South Korea will introduce stronger measures, including naval gunfire and shock tactics, to combat illegal Chinese fishing in its waters, the government said Tuesday. The measures also involve the active usage of force and firearms such as cannons and crew-served weapons to deal with unauthorized vessels poaching in Korean waters, the government announced after an emergency meeting held at the government complex in Seoul earlier in the day. The move comes after a Chinese fishing vessel attacked

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2016

Small business owners in Seoul expect a sales decline due to a sweeping anti-graft law that took effect two weeks ago, a poll shows. According to the survey, released Tuesday by the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, 15.6 percent of the small corporations and micro-enterprise owners polled said that their businesses would be affected by the law, with 70.2 percent of them forecasting a grim outlook.By industry, accommodation and restaurants had the highest number of respondents anticipating an im

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2016

Unionized cargo truck drivers started a general strike midnight Monday, but no major disruptions were reported as of early afternoon due to lower than expected participation. Local authorities and the industry are on high alert for a possible crisis in freight handling nationwide, as a separate strike by rail workers has been hampering railway transportation for the past two weeks. “Cargo transportation is processing smoothly despite the strike,” said a task force team under the Transport Minist

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2016

South Korea on Sunday filed a protest against China after two Chinese boats illegally fishing in Korean waters sank a Korean coast guard boat in their attempt to flee. According to Incheon Coast Guard, the vessels, assumed to be 100-plus ton steel ships, on Friday deliberately crashed into an Incheon coastguard’s 4.5-ton speed boat, which was patrolling the area for illegal fishing in waters off Incheon in the western side of the peninsula, and fled the scene. A 50-year-old marine officer fell i

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2016

Thousands of soldiers, public servants and relief workers were deployed Thursday to southern regions devastated by the most powerful typhoon to hit Korea in October. With gusts of up to 56.5 meters per second, Typhoon Chaba ravaged southern parts of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, leaving at least seven dead and three others missing as of 1 p.m. Thursday. The government, pledging swift restoration of the stricken areas, was considering designating them as special disaster zones, the industria

Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2016

Agricultural Minister Kim Jae-soo borrowed money from a local bank run by the farmers’ cooperative at an unusually low interest rate, a lawmaker revealed Wednesday. According to Rep. Wi Seong-gon of The Minjoo Party of Korea, the minister’s mortgage from Nonghyup Bank carries an interest rate of 1.42 percent, which is sixth-lowest among the bank’s entire 800,000 mortgages. The ten receiving the lowest interest rates had been given a rate range of 1.28 percent to 1.49 percent.Kim received a mortg

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2016

At least five people died and five more are missing after Typhoon Chaba swept through the lower part of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, the safety ministry said. 　Jeju Island and the southwestern cities of Busan and Ulsan were most severely hit as the typhoon unleashed strong gusts of 47 meters per second and heavy downpours of as much as 600 millimeters between Tuesday and noon Wednesday. Vehicles parked at the Seocheon riverside are washed away after a typhoon hit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongs

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2016